The director of the Secret Service has stated that she has no plans to resign as she explained how a gunman got free access to a roof near Donald Trump before attempting to assassinate the former president.
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As widely reported, on June 13, Trump narrowly escaped a deadly assassination attempt when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the roof of a shed.
One shot grazed Trump’s ear, causing it to bleed, while Corey Comperatore, who was sitting behind Trump, was fatally shot.
Two other attendees were seriously injured before Crooks was killed by an FBI sniper.
Following the incident, the Secret Service has been under scrutiny and questions have been raised about how Crooks was able to get access to a roof close to where Trump was standing.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has announced she has no plans to resign following revelations that the agency decided not to guard the roof from which Crooks opened fire on Trump, deeming it too slanted, per the New York Post.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle told ABC News in a startling admission.
“And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
Cheatle acknowledged that the agency was aware of the building’s rooftop vulnerability but chose not to position agents there, allowing Crooks an ideal sniper perch with an unobstructed view of Trump on stage.
From the roof, Crooks had a clear line of sight to the GOP nominee with his AR-style semiautomatic rifle, about 130 yards away.
Tactical operations experts were outraged by Cheatle’s explanation.
James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and Army veteran, said: “You just have to work with the terrain you’re presented with.”
Cheatle has faced increasing pressure to step down as details of the agency’s handling of Trump’s attempted assassination have come to light.
She told ABC: “The buck stops with me,” but refused to resign. “It was unacceptable,” Cheatle said of her agency’s response to Saturday’s Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pa. “And it’s something that shouldn’t happen again.”
“It was obviously a situation that as a Secret Service agent, no one ever wants to occur in their career,” Cheatle said.
“The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
In a statement Monday, Cheatle announced upcoming “changes” to Trump’s security apparatus for the duration of the campaign but did not acknowledge the agency’s failings.
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